Category: Uncategorized

Dear readers– I apologize for the long delay in my blogging! I just spent several weeks “off the grid” and went to Bloomington Indiana to study for my music theory minor field exam. As much as that may sound like the worst thing to do over the summer, I actually ended up appreciating the long hours in the quiet library followed by evening swims and fresh organic foods. In this period of time, I hardly touched any keyboard and spent 6-7 hours a day looking at scores and analyzing them. Thanks to my friend (and tutor) Tim Best, I was able to see some great things in the practice of analyzing music…something that seems generally very distant from me while performing  and on the road.

I’d say the worst part was certainly the four hours of examination. Now that I am on this side of the rainbow, I am able to return to some of my more genuine interests and begin playing the keyboard again. My plans for the rest of the summer include learning new music for next season and finish recording my second CD!

More to come soon.

I ended my 2009-2010 season with a beautiful trip to Portland, Oregon on June 3rd. I was invited to play a mostly toy piano recital at a really great new venue called Doug Fir Lounge. The place reminded me of Le Poisson Rouge in NYC but with a much more indie-rock sort of feeling. Apparently, the designers  of the venue picked out the sound equipment first and then built the  space for the equipment. The walls have a log cabin look to them that add a laid-back feeling to the venue.

I was brought to Portland by the Portland Piano International. As a 30-year organization, Portland Piano has been one of the few non-profits with the unique mission of supporting fine pianists for the purpose of enriching and educating the community. I found out that I was their first ever  off-the-beaten-path keyboard player to be presented in an alternative venue.

It was interesting to see the audience members trickle in. The regular Portland Piano concert-goers showed up an hour early and were able to claim seats. The younger crowd and Doug Fir Lounge-goers seem to show up much later in the evening. Even though everyone was 21+, it was still one of the most diverse audiences I have played for. They were extremely friendly and wildly open to the toy piano. Many times during performance, I heard small choruses of laughter. I really love the fact that some aspects of my toy piano concerts are humorous and can actually induce laughter. It’s refreshing to have that direct contact and rapport with the audience.

There was a woman that came up to me after my concert and wanted me to write “PPC” on the palm of her hand with a bald-point pen. I asked her what it stood for and she said “Pre-disposed Pop Cans.” Later, she explained to me that she is a writer and she couldn’t believe the tickets to the show were only $15. She apparently paid for a ticket to see the show by recycling $15 worth of soda cans! She felt inspired to make a story out of it called “PPC.”

That was certainly the first time I had such a reaction to one of my shows!

I just got back from the official opening of Theatre For One. Before I write about my experience performing in the booth, I want to state how amazing Christine Jones has been through this entire process. Not only is she an amazing designer but she has been such a great spirit to be around and incredibly generous throughout the process. As the artistic director and creator of Theatre For One, Christine made a unique performance space for one performer and one audience member with music road cases and plush red velvet on the inside. It’s hard not to be reminded of the Time Square peep show culture when seeing the booth. Several years ago, Christine had this idea  and decided to collaborate with NY architects LOT-EK. Theatre For One has really been a beautiful partnership between these artists’ visions.

I played for about 30 people on Saturday night in a 2-hour shift. Each time the door opened,there was someone else there that felt entirely different. Since I have been performing music , I often prepare for shows by focusing my energies internally toward myself. The other thing about piano recitals is that there is never any eye contact that is made. Since I do not use my voice to sing, most of the focus of attention is really in this intimate space between my arms in front of my belly between myself and the piano. In the T41 booth,  I felt that I could direct my playing towards a specific person.This really changed the way that I listened to myself and opened up a lot more vulnerable space. To be honest, I’m not use to being  in touch with a specific single person as I am playing, especially someone that is a stranger. I felt that this really affected my playing and general feeling each time.

T41 has been extended! Be sure to catch i Memorial Day weekend May 29-31st in the afternoon and evenings.

There were a number of artists at the Look & Listen concert last Saturday sketching during the performance. I found a few drawings from Julia Sverchuk and wanted to share them. They are so alive and seem to really capture the feeling of performance! I especially like the picture of Karlheinz sitting and listening/recording the performance. Many of her drawings can be viewed on her blog.

I am on my way back to New York City after my debut at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. I had a fantastic experience at the festival and hope that I will have a chance to return again!  Several months ago, Gilmore reached out to Concert Artist Guild and asked them if I would be interested in performing some works on toy piano and prepared piano. I jumped at the opportunity instantly because most venues try to discourage me from preparing their concert pianos. At the Gilmore Festival, there are numerous Steinway pianos being used for the festival. There is even a Steinway on-site manager that looks after the tuning and condition of the instruments. Since I was performing a prepared piano work, Perilous Night by John Cage, as well as a acoustic piano piece, Nothing is Real by Alvin Lucier, Gilmore provided me with two Steinway Grands models D and O. I will mostly likely never have the opportunity to do this program again unless I find another venue/festival that is as generous with their pianos as the Gilmore Festival.

The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival has established itself as one of the most prestigious keyboard awards and festivals. Every four years they award a pianist of any age and nationality for their promising career as a concert pianist. This year, the award went to Kirill Gerstein who performed last night. Given the kind of classical piano festival this is, I was really honored that they were willing to incorporate me as a toy pianist, recognizing it’s unique place in the keyboard world. I found the audience members to be curious, knowledgeable of keyboard music and aware of contemporary arts/music. It was the first time several people after the concert mentioned to me that they thought my concert was inappropriate for young kids and found it amusing that people decided to bring their kids to a toy piano concert. I think because of the nature of the festival, audience members seem to “get it” a lot more than other venues where people automatically think the toy piano is for kids.  I wouldn’t say that the toy piano concert is not for kids, but I would say it is as kid-friendly ( or non-kid-friendly,for that matter) as any other classical music concert.

Tomorrow I begin my rehearsals for the world premiere of Karlheinz Essl’s new toy piano piece, Whatever Shall Be that will be premiered this weekend at the Look &Listen Festival. Read more later this week to keep up!